Gardner mayor dives into fight over swim team sanctions

Wednesday

Oct 24, 2012 at 6:00 AM

By George Barnes TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Mayor Mark P. Hawke has no plans to return the high school girls 2012 South/Central swimming trophy, and said he has little use for the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association after it levied sanctions against the Gardner High swim team.

“If they want to come and get the trophy, they will have to pry my cold dead hands from around it,” he said.

The mayor, who serves as chairman of the Gardner School Committee, said he is considering displaying the trophy in his office. He said he expects the School Department to appeal the MIAA ruling.

The association notified the city Monday it has stripped the Gardner High girls swim team of its title and placed the team on two years of probation for alleged rules violations.

In a letter to Superintendent of Schools Carol Daring, MIAA President Brian McCann said the penalties were because the team violated an MIAA rule when some players missed high school practices to attend a non-school athletic activity.

Most of the swimmers were also members of the Greenwood Swim Club, coached by Don Lemieux, who also coached the high school team. Mr. Lemieux stepped down from the high school team in February after the MIAA, which was already investigating the allegations of broken rules, forbade him to coach in the Division 1 state championships.

In his letter, Mr. McCann said it was “unusual” that only one member of the 2012 team was not connected to the team either through school choice, home schooling or through a cooperating school. He said the high school team is more like a non-school club team than a school team. The Gardner High girls swim team is the most successful in the state and has attracted many students through school choice over the years.

Mr. Hawke said he is concerned about the letter on several levels.

“It’s unfortunate they did not do their own investigation, but took the word of one disgruntled parent,” he said.

The allegations against the team were first brought to light by swim parent Karen Cornetta, mother of Gardner swimmer Katie Cornetta, who reported findings of a year-long investigation she personally conducted. She then turned over her observations to the MIAA. School Principal Donna Pierce said the parent had a “personal agenda” over something that happened in 2010. Ms. Pierce said in February she did her own investigation into Ms. Cornetta’s charges but could find no evidence of any rule breaking.

The mayor said he was concerned by Mr. McCann’s implication that somehow students participating in athletics who are there on school choice, are home-schooled students participating with the public school system or are from a cooperating school somehow make the high school team less legitimate. He said athletics is one of the attractions for students to change schools under the state-created school-choice process.

Mr. Hawke also said the district could not tell students participating in school athletics they cannot also participate on a club team or in some other extra-curricular activity.

Paul Tassone, a member of the Gardner School Committee, said he agrees with the mayor about the trophy. He also questioned whether anyone from the MIAA did any investigating.

“The trophy was earned by our students and it should not be taken away from them,” he said.

Mr. Tassone also said he was surprised by the implication that having school-choice students on a team makes it less eligible.

“School choice happens around the state,” he said. “Look at Wachusett (Regional High School). It is a prime example.”

City Councilor Joshua Cormier said the swim team members have always held up their end as student athletes. He said that when he was on the School Committee it was normal for at least three swimmers to be among the top three in their class.

“They were exceptional students, exceptional people as well as exceptional athletes,” he said. “They were the type of students we wanted within our walls.”

The Gardner team has won 16 state championships.

Mr. Cormier said the action by the MIAA offers a negative message about students attending other schools on school choice, adding that the MIAA is punishing Gardner for all its success. He said the actions by the MIAA were unusual.

“I can’t recall the MIAA labeling a school with this in the past,” he said.

Mr. Cormier said the connection between the swim team and the Greenwood Swim Club should also not be a problem. He said it happens in every sport. He said basketball players play AAU basketball year round but still play for their high school teams, middle school soccer players play in travel soccer teams and baseball players also play Babe Ruth baseball.

“For me, if the athletes want to get better, it shouldn’t be a problem as long as they fulfill their obligations as student athletes,” he said.

Besides being put on probation, the MIAA said the swim team also will retroactively forfeit any meets from last season in which ineligible swimmers participated. Also, it said, only Gardner High students can swim for the team this season.